Morro Bay Municipal Code § 17.27.070 Location of required parking

The purposes of the parking and loading regulations are to:

A. Ensure that adequate off-street parking and loading facilities are provided for new land uses and major alterations to existing uses;

B. Minimize the negative environmental and urban design impacts that can result from parking lots, driveways, and drive aisles within parking lots;

C. Ensure that adequate off-street bicycle parking facilities are provided and promote parking lot designs that offer safe and attractive pedestrian routes;

D. Establish standards and regulations for safe and well-designed parking, unloading, and vehicle circulation areas that minimize conflicts between pedestrian and vehicles within parking lots and, where appropriate, create buffers from surrounding land uses; and

E. Offer flexible means of minimizing the amount of area devoted to parking by allowing reductions in the number of required spaces in transit-served locations, shared parking facilities, and other situations expected to have lower vehicle parking demand.

(Ord. No. 662, § 2, 12-13-23)

The requirements of this chapter apply to the establishment, alteration, expansion, or change in any use or structure, as provided in this section.

A. Coastal Resource Protection (CRP) Overlay District. In the CRP overlay district, the provisions of Chapter 17.14, Coastal Resource Protection (CRP) Overlay District, apply in addition to the provisions of this chapter. In any case of conflict, the provisions more restrictive and protective of coastal resources shall apply.

B. New Buildings and Land Uses. Parking and loading in accordance with this chapter shall be provided at the time any main building or structure is erected or any new land use is established.

C. Reconstruction, Expansion, and Change in Use of Existing Non-Residential Buildings.

1. When a change in use, expansion of a use, or expansion of floor area creates an increase in the number of required parking or loading spaces, additional parking and loading shall be provided for such addition, enlargement, or change in use and not for the entire building or site.

a. Exception, Commercial Uses. Additional parking and loading spaces are not required for the change of use from one commercial use to another commercial use.

2. The existing parking and loading shall be maintained.

3. If the number of existing parking or loading spaces is greater than the requirements for such use, the number of spaces in excess of the prescribed minimum may be counted toward meeting the parking and loading requirements for the addition, enlargement, or change in use.

4. A change in occupancy is not considered a change in use unless the new occupant is in a different use classification than the former occupant.

5. Additional parking and loading spaces are not required for the reconstruction of an existing building when there is no increase in floor area.

D. Alterations that Increase the Number of Dwelling Units. The creation of additional dwelling units through the alteration of an existing building or construction of an additional structure or structures requires parking to serve the new dwelling units. This requirement does not apply when sufficient parking exists to provide the number of spaces required for the existing and new dwelling units.

E. When Constructed. Parking and loading facilities required by this chapter shall be constructed or installed prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy for the uses that they serve.

(Ord. No. 662, § 2, 12-13-23)

A. Existing Parking and Loading to be Maintained. No existing parking and/or loading serving any use may be reduced in amount or changed in design, location or maintenance below the requirements for such use, unless equivalent substitute facilities are provided, except as provided below.

1. Electrical Vehicle Charging Station. If an electric vehicle charging station and any associated equipment interfere with, reduce, eliminate, or in any way impact the required parking spaces for existing uses, the city shall reduce the number of required parking spaces for the existing uses by the amount necessary to accommodate the electric vehicle charging station and any associated equipment.

B. Nonconforming Parking or Loading. An existing use of land or structure shall not be deemed to be nonconforming solely because of a lack of parking and/or loading facilities required by this chapter, provided that facilities used for parking and/or loading as of the date of adoption of this code are not reduced in number to less than what this chapter requires.

C. Accessibility. Parking and loading areas must be accessible for its intended purpose during all hours of operation.

D. Stacked Parking. Stacked or valet parking is allowed if an attendant is present or an automated system is in place to move vehicles. If stacked parking managed by an attendant is used for required parking spaces, an acceptable form of guarantee must be filed with the director ensuring that an attendant will be present while the lot is in operation.

(Ord. No. 662, § 2, 12-13-23)

A. Minimum Number of Spaces Required.

1. Waterfront District. The parking requirements in Table 17.27.040 are required but may be satisfied on-site, off-site, or via in lieu fee (see land use plan policies CIR-4.1 and CIR-4.3).

2. Other Districts. In districts other than the waterfront district, each land use shall be provided at least the number of parking spaces stated in Table 17.27.040, Required Number of Parking Spaces. The parking requirement for any use not listed in Table 17.27.040 shall be determined by the director based upon the requirements for the most similar comparable use, the particular characteristics of the proposed use, and any other relevant data regarding parking demand.

TABLE 17.27.040: REQUIRED NUMBER OF PARKING SPACES

B. Calculation of Required Spaces. The number of required parking spaces shall be calculated according to the following rules:

1. Floor Area. Where a parking or loading requirement is stated as a ratio of parking spaces to floor area, the floor area is assumed to be total floor area, unless otherwise stated. See Section 17.02.030 F, Determining Floor Area.

2. Employees. Where a parking or loading requirement is stated as a ratio of parking spaces to employees, the number of employees shall be based on the largest shift that occurs in a typical week.

3. Bedrooms. Where a parking requirement is stated as a ratio of parking spaces to bedrooms, any rooms having the potential of being a bedroom and meeting the standards of the building code as a sleeping room shall be counted as a bedroom.

4. Students. Where a parking or loading requirement is stated as a ratio of parking spaces to students (including children in day care), the number is assumed to be the number of students at the state-certified capacity or at building code occupancy where no state-certification is required.

5. Seats. Where parking requirements are stated as a ratio of parking spaces to seats, each eighty inches of bench-type seating at maximum seating capacity is counted as one seat.

C. Sites with Multiple Uses. If more than one use is located on a site, the number of required parking spaces and loading spaces shall be equal to the sum of the requirements calculated separately for each use unless a reduction is approved pursuant to Section 17.27.050, Parking Reductions.

(Ord. No. 662, § 2, 12-13-23)

The number of parking spaces required by Section 17.27.040, Required Parking Spaces, may be reduced as follows.

A. Transit Accessibility. For any land use except residential single-unit and two-unit development, if any portion of the lot is located within one-quarter mile of a transit stop with regular, scheduled service during the weekday hours of seven a.m. to nine a.m. and five p.m. and seven p.m., the number of required parking spaces is reduced by twenty percent of the normally required number of spaces. In addition, parking may be reduced in accordance with AB 2097. In all cases, such reduction shall not adversely impact public coastal access, and any such impact shall be appropriately mitigated.

B. Proximate Public Parking Facilities. Where a use is located within one thousand two hundred feet of a city-owned public parking facility, measured along a pedestrian route, the number of required parking spaces may be waived all or in part with approval of a minor use permit.

C. Motorcycle Parking. Motorcycle parking may substitute for up to five percent of required automobile parking. Each motorcycle space must be at least four feet wide and seven feet deep.

D. Carsharing Programs. Required automobile parking spaces may be substituted with designated carshare vehicle parking spaces, pursuant to the following:

1. Up to a maximum of twenty percent of the required automobile parking spaces may be designated as carshare vehicle parking spaces.

2. Carshare vehicles shall be maintained for active use by carshare service and not for other purposes. No sales, servicing, storage, repair, administrative or similar functions shall occur and no personnel shall be employed on the site except for occasional short-term maintenance of vehicles unless otherwise permitted by the land use regulations in the zoning district.

3. Carshare vehicles shall be made available to members of the carsharing service through an unattended, self-service operation twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

4. All owners of a lot, including any applicable homeowner's associations, shall be required to grant permission for the operation or parking of a carshare vehicle on their property.

E. Shared Parking. Where a shared parking facility serving more than one use will be provided, the total number of required parking spaces may be reduced up to fifty percent with approval of a minor use permit, if the review authority finds that:

1. The peak hours of use will not overlap or coincide to the degree that peak demand for parking spaces from all uses will be greater than the total supply of spaces;

2. The proposed number of parking spaces to be provided will be adequate to serve each use; and

3. In the case of a shared parking facility that serves more than one property, a parking agreement has been prepared consistent with the provisions of Section 17.27.070 B.1, Allowance for Off-Site Parking.

F. Embarcadero District. For development located on those city managed lease sites covered by the waterfront master plan (and located within the area identified in the -WMP zoning overlay), parking requirements may be deemed satisfied and reductions may be allowed based on the calculation of the parking requirements for the previously permitted uses on the lease site. City lease sites may utilize the existing parking requirement as evidence of satisfying the newly proposed use's determined parking requirements, unless additional parking is otherwise required, in which case only that additional parking must be satisfied. In all cases, approval of parking reduction shall be consistent with provisions of Section 17.27.050 G and consistent with the LCP coastal land use plan.

G. Other Parking Reductions. Required parking for any use may be reduced through approval of a minor use permit as follows.

1. Criteria for Approval. The review authority may only approve a minor use permit for reduced parking if it finds that:

a. Special conditions—including, but not limited to, the nature of the proposed operation; proximity to frequent transit service; transportation characteristics of persons residing, working, or visiting the site; or because the applicant has undertaken a transportation demand management program—exist that will reduce parking demand at the site;

b. The use will adequately be served by the proposed parking; and

c. Parking demand generated by the project will not exceed the capacity of or have a significant impact on the supply of on-street parking in the surrounding area.

2. Parking Demand Study. In order to evaluate a proposed project's compliance with the above criteria, submittal of a parking demand study that substantiates the basis for granting a reduced number of spaces may be required.

(Ord. No. 662, § 2, 12-13-23)

A. Parking Management Programs and Districts. If parking management programs and districts are established, said formations shall be established consistent with the coastal land use plan. Assessment district financing and/or an in-lieu fee system may be established in order to provide adequate off-street parking requirements for new development.

B. In-Lieu Parking Fee, Commercial and Mixed Use Districts. Where it can be demonstrated that the reasonable and practical development of property in a commercial or mixed use district precludes the provision of required off-street parking on the property, the planning commission may permit the applicant to satisfy parking requirements by payment of an in-lieu parking fee. The planning commission will determine the total parking requirements for each individual project at the time of permit review.

1. Number of Spaces. The number of parking spaces required and used to calculate the in-lieu fee shall be determined according to the provisions of this chapter and any other applicable provisions of the zoning code and the city of Morro Bay Municipal Code.

2. Change of Use. Any off-street parking satisfied through this provision shall run with the land and any subsequent change of use that requires more parking shall require subsequent action to satisfy the additional parking requirement. No refund of such payment shall be made when there is a change to a use requiring less parking.

3. Change of Ownership. A change of ownership or the dividing or merging of properties shall not affect an obligation for parking in-lieu fees or a determination that parking requirements have been met according to fees paid for a particular use.

4. Fees. The fee to be charged for each parking space required shall be set by resolution by the city council and may be modified from time to time, and shall be payable in accordance with administrative policies established in this chapter. In setting such fees, the city council shall consider all costs associated with the provision of the necessary parking including planning, design, land acquisition or lease costs and construction of improvements.

5. Use of Fees. Fees accepted under this provision will be used by the city to provide the additional required parking at another location in lieu of the applicant providing the required off-street parking. Such parking shall be provided within a reasonable distance from the contributing project or within close proximity to public transit providing access to the use. All such fees collected shall be used by the city for the planning, design, acquisition or lease of land, and development and redevelopment of public parking facilities within or adjacent to the parking management plan area and for public transit facilities providing access to said parking.

6. Fee Payment. The per space fee for new construction, additions or changes in occupancy shall be paid in a lump sum or in accordance with a payment plan approved by both the finance director and the city administrator, prior to the issuance of construction permits for the structure or occupancy for which the parking is required or prior to the issuance of a city business license for the activity for which the parking is required, if no construction permit is required.

(Ord. No. 662, § 2, 12-13-23)

A. Front and Corner Side Setbacks. Parking spaces required pursuant to this chapter shall not be located within a required front or corner side setback.

B. On-Site Parking Required. Required parking shall be located on the same lot as the use it serves except as allowed below.

1. Allowance for Off-Site Parking. Required parking may be located off-site provided the off-site parking facility is located within 600 feet, along a pedestrian route, of the principal entrance containing the use(s) for which the parking is required.

a. Parking Agreement. A written agreement between the landowner and the city in a form satisfactory to the city attorney shall be executed and recorded in the office of the county recorder. The agreement shall include:

i. A guarantee among the landowner for access to and use of the parking facility; and

ii. A guarantee that the spaces to be provided will be maintained and reserved for the uses served for as long as such uses are in operation.

(Ord. No. 662, § 2, 12-13-23)

A. Short-Term Bicycle Parking. Short-term bicycle parking intended to serve shoppers, customers, messengers, guests and other visitors to a site who generally stay for a short time, shall be provided as specified below.

1. Parking Spaces Required. For the following uses, the number of short-term bicycle parking spaces shall be at least twenty percent of the number of required automobile parking spaces, with a minimum of four parking spaces provided per establishment.

a. Multi-unit residential, group residential, and single room occupancy with five or more units.

b. All uses in the public and semi-public use classification.

c. All uses in the commercial use classification.

2. Location. Short-term bicycle parking must be located within fifty feet of a main entrance to the building it serves. Where the bicycle parking area is not visible from the main entrance of the building, signs located at the main entrance of the building shall identify the location of bicycle parking.

a. In the CC district, required short-term bicycle parking may be located in the right-of-way with an encroachment permit issued by the city.

3. Anchoring and Security. For each short-term bicycle parking space required, a stationary, securely anchored object shall be provided to which a bicycle frame and one wheel (two points of contact) can be secured with a high-security U-shaped shackle lock if both wheels are left on the bicycle. One such object may serve multiple bicycle parking spaces.

4. Size and Accessibility. Each short-term bicycle parking space shall be a minimum of two feet in width and six feet in length and shall be accessible without moving another bicycle. Two feet of clearance shall be provided between bicycle parking spaces and adjacent walls, poles, landscaping, street furniture, drive aisles, and pedestrian ways and at least five feet from vehicle parking spaces.

[Figure: FIGURE 17.27.080 A: SHORT-TERM BICYCLE PARKING]

FIGURE 17.27.080 A: SHORT-TERM BICYCLE PARKING

B. Long-Term Bicycle Parking. Long-term bicycle parking shall be provided in order to serve employees, students, residents, commuters, and others who generally stay at a site for four hours or longer.

1. Parking Spaces Required.

a. Residential Uses. A minimum of one long-term bicycle parking space shall be provided for every five units for multi-unit residential, group residential, and single room occupancy.

b. Other Uses. Any establishment with twenty-five or more full time equivalent employees shall provide long-term bicycle parking at a minimum ratio of one space per twenty-five vehicle spaces.

c. Parking Structures. Long-term bicycle parking shall be provided at a minimum ratio of one space per fifty vehicle spaces.

2. Location. Long-term bicycle parking must be located on the same lot as the use it serves and near the facility entrance. In parking garages, long-term bicycle parking must be located near an entrance to the facility. Where the bicycle parking area is not visible from the entrance of the building, signs located at the entrance or in an entry lobby of the building shall identify the location of bicycle parking.

3. Covered Spaces. At least fifty percent of required long-term bicycle parking must be covered. Covered parking can be provided inside buildings, under roof overhangs or awnings, in bicycle lockers, or within or under other structures.

4. Security. Long-term bicycle parking must be in:

a. An enclosed bicycle locker;

b. A fenced, covered, locked or guarded bicycle storage area;

c. A rack or stand inside a building that is within view of an attendant or security guard or visible from employee work areas or within secure/restricted bicycle storage room; or

d. Other secure area approved by the director.

5. Size and Accessibility. Each bicycle parking space shall be a minimum of two feet in width and six feet in length and shall be accessible without moving another bicycle. Two feet of clearance shall be provided between bicycle parking spaces and adjacent walls, poles, landscaping, street furniture, drive aisles, and pedestrian ways and at least five feet from vehicle parking spaces.

C. Bicycle Parking Reductions and Modifications. A modification for a reduction in the number of required bicycle parking spaces or to other standards of this section may be granted pursuant to Chapter 17.42, Modifications, if the review authority finds that:

1. Adequate site space is not available on an existing development to provide bicycle parking; or

2. Reduced bicycle parking is justified by reasonably anticipated demand; or

3. Other criteria based on unusual or specific circumstances of the particular case as deemed appropriate by the review authority.

(Ord. No. 662, § 2, 12-13-23)

A. Loading Spaces Required. Every new building, and every building enlarged by more than ten thousand square feet of floor area that is to be occupied by a manufacturing establishment, storage facility, warehouse facility, retail store, eating and drinking establishment, wholesale store, market, hotel, hospital, mortuary, laundry, dry-cleaning establishment, or other use similarly requiring the receipt or distribution by vehicles or trucks of material or merchandise shall provide off-street loading and unloading areas as stated in Table 17.27.090, Required Loading Spaces.

TABLE 17.27.090: REQUIRED LOADING SPACES

1. Multi-Tenant Buildings. The floor area of the entire building shall be used in determining spaces for multi-tenant buildings. A common loading area may be required, if each tenant space is not provided a loading area. Drive-in roll-up doors for multi-tenant industrial projects may be substituted for required loading areas.

2. Reduction in Number of Loading Spaces Required. The loading space requirement may be waived if the director finds that the applicant has satisfactorily demonstrated that due to the nature of the proposed use and/or location, such loading space will not be needed or is not practical.

3. Additional Loading Spaces Required. The required number of loading spaces may be increased to ensure that trucks will not be loaded, unloaded, or stored on public streets. Such requirement shall be based on the anticipated frequency of truck pickups and deliveries and of the truck storage requirements of the use for which the on-site loading spaces are required.

B. Location. All required loading areas shall be located on the same site as the use served. Loading areas shall not be located within the required front, side, or rear setback.

C. Screening. Loading areas shall be screened from public view by building walls, or a uniformly solid fence or wall, or any combination thereof, not less than six feet in height.

D. Electric Vehicle Charging. All new loading spaces shall be electric vehicle charging spaces (EV spaces) capable of supporting future electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE).

E. Minimum Size. Each on-site loading space required by this chapter shall not be less than twelve feet wide, twenty-five feet long, and fourteen feet high, exclusive of driveways for ingress and egress, maneuvering areas and setbacks. The minimum size requirement may be modified if the director finds that the applicant has satisfactorily demonstrated that due to the nature of the proposed use, such size will not be needed.

F. Driveways for Ingress and Egress and Maneuvering Areas. Each on-site loading space required by this chapter shall be provided with driveways for ingress and egress and maneuvering space of the same type and meeting the same criteria required for on-site parking spaces. Maneuvering areas shall not encroach into required parking areas, travelways, or street rights-of-way. This requirement may be modified if the director finds that sufficient space is provided so that maneuvering areas will not interfere with traffic and pedestrian circulation.

G. Surfacing. All loading areas shall be paved and improved so as to provide a dust-free surface, and all sites shall be properly drained, consistent with applicable stormwater runoff regulations and subject to the approval of the city engineer.

(Ord. No. 662, § 2, 12-13-23)

A. Forward Entry. Vehicles shall not back onto an arterial street. Parking areas designed to accommodate five or more vehicles shall be provided with suitable maneuvering room so that all vehicles can enter and exit from a public street by forward motion only.

B. Limited-Access and Arterial Street. Driveway encroachments shall be restricted onto arterial streets and highways if alternative points of access to the property are feasible or if the city council has, by resolution, restricted access to the street.

C. Driveway Separation. There shall be a minimum of twenty-two feet of standard curb and gutter between the tops of the driveway transition. In residential districts, the required driveway separation only applies to driveways on the subject parcel.

D. Driveway Transitions. No part of the driveway transition shall extend closer than one foot to side property line of the property being served by the driveway unless approved by the city engineer and unless a written agreement is obtained from the adjacent property owner and filed with the city engineer for recording with the county recorder. The agreement shall be in a form approved by the city attorney.

E. Curb Height. Full height curbs shall be provided except for locations with approved driveways and/or handicap ramps.

F. Driveway Length and Accessibility.

1. Driveway Length. Driveways providing direct access from a public street to a covered or uncovered parking space shall be at least twenty feet in length except as follows:

a. RS-A District, Lots Two Thousand Five Hundred Square Feet or Smaller in Size. The minimum driveway length is ten feet.

b. RS-A District, Lots between Two Thousand Five Hundred One and Four Thousand Three Hundred Square Feet in Size. The minimum driveway length is fifteen feet.

c. RS-B District, All Lots. The minimum driveway length is fifteen feet.

2. Accessibility. In the residential districts, driveways providing access to parking spaces for detached residential single unit development shall be kept free and clear for the required length stated above. Driveways shall not be gated within this minimum distance.

G. Driveway Width. The minimum and maximum width of a driveway shall be as follows.

TABLE 17.27.100 G: DRIVEWAY WIDTH

H. Turnarounds.

1. Driveways that serve commercial or multi-unit development which exceed one hundred feet in depth shall provide a turnaround to ensure that vehicles can safely exit in a forward direction.

2. Driveways that exceed fifteen percent slope serving any type of development may also be required to provide turnarounds.

I. Surfacing. Driveways shall be surfaced with asphalt or concrete paving or alternative surface as approved by the city engineer.

1. Residential Paved Wheel Tracks. For residential uses, in lieu of a full width paved driveway and where the driveway serves only one residence; paved wheel tracks are allowed as long as the tracks are located where the wheel traffic will most probably occur, the tracks are located only behind the sidewalk ramp, each track is at least three and one-half feet apart.

J. Maximum Slope.

1. Residential Development. Driveways serving residential development shall not exceed fifteen percent slope unless the city engineer approves a slope up to twenty percent provided special construction procedures and materials are used.

2. Non-Residential Development. Driveways serving non-residential development shall not exceed ten percent slope.

K. Visibility. Visibility of a driveway crossing a street property line shall not be blocked between a height of three feet and nine feet for a depth of five feet from the street property line as viewed from the edge of the right-of-way on either side of the driveway.

L. Common Access Driveways. Projects are encouraged to provide shared vehicle and pedestrian access to adjacent properties for convenience, safety, and efficient circulation. A joint access agreement guaranteeing the continued availability of the shared access between the properties approved by the director shall be recorded in the county's recorder's office, in a form satisfactory to the city attorney.

M. Replacement of Curb and Sidewalks of Abandoned Driveway. The director of public works shall determine whether a driveway has been abandoned. Any such abandoned driveway shall be removed by the owner and replaced with standard curb, gutter and sidewalk to fit the existing line of grade of adjacent standard curb, gutter and sidewalk. The director of public works shall cause an abandoned drive to be removed if it has not been removed within thirty days after the owner has been notified to do so. The procedure for repair and collection of the cost of repair shall be as set forth in Division 7, Part 3, Chapter 22 of the Streets and Highways Code.

(Ord. No. 662, § 2, 12-13-23)

All parking areas shall be designed and developed consistent with the following standards.

A. Handicap Parking. Each parking area where parking is provided for the public as clients, guests, or employees shall include parking accessible to handicapped or disabled persons as near as practical to a primary entrance and in accordance with the standards for the number of spaces, size, location, signing, and markings/striping set for in Chapter 71, "Site Development Requirements for Handicapped Accessibility" of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations.

B. Electric Vehicle Charging.

1. Nonresidential Parking. In new parking lots with ten or more parking spaces, a minimum of one level 2 or fast charging electric vehicle charging station shall be provided for every ten parking spaces.

2. Residential Parking. In all new parking areas for single unit dwellings, two-unit dwellings, and multi-unit residential development, a minimum of fifty percent of the total number of parking spaces provided shall be electric vehicle charging spaces (EV spaces) capable of supporting future electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE).

C. Tandem Parking. Tandem parking may be permitted to satisfy parking requirements in accordance with the following.

1. No more than two vehicles shall be placed one behind the other.

2. Both spaces shall be assigned to a single dwelling unit or non-residential establishment.

3. Tandem parking to meet required parking for non-residential uses may be used for employee parking; the maximum number of tandem parking spaces shall not exceed fifty percent of the total number of spaces.

4. Tandem parking to meet required parking for multi-unit development shall be located within an enclosed structure; the maximum number of tandem parking spaces shall not exceed fifty percent of the total number of spaces.

5. Tandem parking shall not be used to meet the guest parking requirement.

D. Size of Parking Spaces and Maneuvering Aisles. Parking spaces and maneuvering aisles shall meet the minimum dimensions required by this subsection. Screening walls, roof support posts, columns, or other structural members shall not intrude into the required dimensions for parking spaces.

1. Standard Parking Spaces and Drive Aisles. The minimum basic dimension for standard parking spaces is nine feet by twenty feet, with a minimum vertical clearance of seven feet. Table 17.27.110 D.1, Standard Parking Space and Aisle Dimensions, provides the dimensions of spaces (stalls) and aisles according to angle of parking spaces. The required aisle width may be modified if the city engineer finds that sufficient space is provided, so that maneuvering areas will not interfere with traffic and pedestrian circulation.

TABLE 17.27.110 D.1: STANDARD PARKING SPACE AND AISLE DIMENSIONS

[Figure: FIGURE 17.27.110(D.1): STANDARD PARKING SPACE AND AISLE DIMENSIONS]

FIGURE 17.27.110(D.1): STANDARD PARKING SPACE AND AISLE DIMENSIONS

2. Compact Parking Spaces. In parking areas with four or more parking spaces, up to twenty-five percent of the required spaces may be reduced to eight and one-half feet by eighteen feet and labeled "compact."

3. Parking Spaces Abutting a Wall, Fence, or Column. The width of each parking space adjoining a wall, fence, column, or other obstruction higher than one-half feet shall be increased by one foot on each obstructed side.

[Figure: FIGURE 17.27.110(D.3): PARKING SPACES ABUTTING A WALL, FENCE, OR COLUMN]

FIGURE 17.27.110(D.3): PARKING SPACES ABUTTING A WALL, FENCE, OR COLUMN

4. Minimum Dimensions for Residential Garages. Garages serving residential uses shall be constructed to meet the following minimum inside dimensions.

a. A single car garage shall be at least eleven feet wide and twenty feet long.

b. A garage containing two or more parking spaces shall have a minimum inside dimension of ten feet in width by twenty feet in length per space.

c. The minimum vertical clearance shall be seven feet except in the front four feet of the parking space where the minimum vertical clearance is four feet six inches.

d. Garages shall be equipped with an automatic door opener and a roll-up sectional or similar garage door which does not extend onto the apron. A security gate for a multi-unit development is permitted.

E. Service Vehicle Maneuvering Area. Parking lots shall be designed so that sanitation, emergency, and other public service vehicles can provide service without backing up unreasonable distances or making other dangerous or hazardous turning movements. The minimum allowable inside turning radius shall be twenty feet. Where fire truck access is necessary, the minimum inside radius shall be twenty-eight feet and the outside radius shall be a minimum of forty-eight feet.

F. Pedestrian Circulation. Parking areas for multi-unit residential developments of five or more units and parking areas for commercial and mixed-use developments that are eighty feet or more in depth and/or include twenty-five or more parking spaces shall provide pedestrian access that is separate and distinct from driveways, according to the following standards:

1. Connection to Public Sidewalk. An on-site walkway shall connect the main building entry to a public sidewalk on each street frontage. Such walkway shall be the shortest practical distance between the main building entry and sidewalk, generally no more than one hundred twenty-five percent of the straight-line distance.

2. Materials and Width. Walkways shall provide at least five feet of unobstructed width and be hard-surfaced.

3. Identification. Pedestrian walkways shall be clearly differentiated from driveways, parking aisles, and parking and loading spaces through the use of elevation changes, a different paving material, or similar method.

4. Separation. Where a pedestrian walkway is parallel and adjacent to an auto travel lane, it must be raised and separated from the auto travel lane by a raised curb at least four inches high, bollards, or other physical barrier.

[Figure: FIGURE 17.27.110(F): PEDESTRIAN CIRCULATION]

FIGURE 17.27.110(F): PEDESTRIAN CIRCULATION

G. Parking Lot Striping. All parking stalls shall be clearly outlined with double striping, and all aisles, approach lanes, turning areas, and entrances shall be clearly marked with directional arrows and lines as required by the city engineer.

H. Wheel Stops. Parking areas designed to accommodate five or more vehicles shall provide concrete bumper guards or wheel stops for all unenclosed parking spaces. A six-inch high concrete curb surrounding a landscape area at least six feet wide may be used as a wheel stop, provided that the overhang will not damage or interfere with plant growth or its irrigation.

I. Surfacing. All parking areas shall be paved and improved, and all sites shall be properly drained, consistent with applicable stormwater runoff regulations and subject to the approval of the city engineer.

1. Required Surface. All parking areas shall be surfaced with asphalt or concrete paving, pervious pavers, or alternative surface as approved by the city engineer.

a. Landscaping Alternative. Up to two feet of the front of a parking space as measured from a line parallel to the direction of the bumper of a vehicle using the space may be landscaped with ground cover plants instead of paving.

2. Slope and Drainage. Parking areas shall not exceed six percent slope nor be less than one-half percent slope in the direction of drainage. A maximum of ten percent slope in aisle and turnaround areas may be allowed by the city engineer.

J. Perimeter Curbing. Parking areas designed to accommodate five or more vehicles shall provide a six-inch wide and six-inch high concrete curb along the outer edge of the parking facility pavement, except where said pavement abuts a fence or wall. Curbs separating landscaped areas from parking areas shall be designed to allow stormwater runoff to pass through.

K. Heat Island Reduction. In order to reduce ambient surface temperatures in parking areas, at least fifty percent of the areas not landscaped shall be shaded, either with light-colored materials with a solar reflectance index of at least 29, or a combination of shading and light-colored materials.

1. Shade may be provided by canopies, shade structures, trees, or other equivalent mechanism. If shade is provided by trees, the amount of required shading is to be reached within fifteen years.

L. Lighting. Parking areas designed to accommodate five or more vehicles shall be provided with a minimum of one-half foot-candle and a maximum of three foot-candles of light over of the parking surface during the hours of use from one-half hour before dusk until one-half hour after dawn.

1. Light poles and standards shall not exceed twenty feet in height unless a greater height is approved pursuant to Chapter 17.42, Modifications.

2. Lighting design shall be coordinated with the landscape plan to ensure that vegetation growth will not substantially impair the intended illumination.

3. Light sources shall be between 2600 and 3500 Kelvin and have a CRI of 85 or greater.

4. Parking lot lighting shall, to the maximum extent feasible, be designed and installed so that light and glare is not directed onto residential use areas or adjacent public rights-of-way, consistent with Section 17.23.080, Lighting and Illumination.

M. Separation From On-Site Buildings. Parking areas designed to accommodate five or more vehicles must be separated from the front and side exterior walls of on-site buildings by walkways a minimum of three feet in width. Commercial development with twenty-five thousand square feet or more of floor area must be separated from parking on all sides by a walkway a minimum of five feet in width, as well as a planter area at least three feet in width.

[Figure: FIGURE 17.27.110(M): PARKING SEPARATION FROM ON-SITE BUILDINGS]

FIGURE 17.27.110(M): PARKING SEPARATION FROM ON-SITE BUILDINGS

N. Landscaping. Parking areas designed to accommodate five or more vehicles must be landscaped according to the general standards of Chapter 17.25, Landscaping, as well as the standards of this subsection.

1. Landscape Area Required. A minimum of ten percent of the parking lot area shall be landscaped.

2. Minimum Planter Dimension. No landscape planter that is to be counted toward the required landscape area shall be smaller than twenty-five square feet in area, or four feet in any horizontal dimension, excluding curbing.

3. Landscaped Planters Between Parking Stalls and at the Ends of Rows of Parking Stalls. In open parking areas, landscaped planter areas shall be provided after each five parking spaces in any row and at the ends of each row of parking spaces.

4. Landscaped Buffer Adjacent to Right-of-Way. A landscaped area at least five feet wide shall be provided between any surface parking area and any property line adjacent to a public street for the length of the parking area.

5. Landscaped Buffer Abutting Interior Lot Line. A landscaped area at least three feet wide shall be provided between any surface parking area and any interior property line for the length of the parking area.

6. Trees.

a. Number Required. One for every six parking spaces, minimum of two trees per parking area.

b. Distribution. Trees shall be distributed relatively evenly throughout the parking area.

c. Size. All trees shall be a minimum fifteen-gallon size.

7. Protection of Vegetation.

a. Clearance from Vehicles. All required landscaped areas shall be designed so that plant materials, at maturity, are protected from vehicle damage by providing a minimum two-foot clearance of low-growing plants where a vehicle overhang is permitted, or by wheel stops set a minimum of two feet from the back of the curb.

b. Planters. All required parking lot landscaping shall be within planters bounded by a concrete curb at least six inches wide and six inches high. Curbs separating landscaped areas from parking areas shall be designed to allow stormwater runoff to pass through.

8. Visibility and Clearance.

a. Notwithstanding other provisions of this chapter, parking area landscaping shall comply with Section 17.23.180, Visibility at Intersections.

b. Landscaping in planters at the end of parking aisles shall not obstruct driver's vision of vehicular and pedestrian cross-traffic.

c. Mature trees shall have a foliage clearance maintained at eight feet from the surface of the parking area.

d. Other plant materials located in the interior of a parking lot shall not exceed thirty inches in height.

[Figure: FIGURE 17.27.110(N): PARKING AREA LANDSCAPING]

FIGURE 17.27.110(N): PARKING AREA LANDSCAPING

O. Screening. Parking areas designed to accommodate five or more vehicles shall be screened along the street frontage and adjacent lots in a residential district, according to the following standards.

1. Height. Screening along the street frontage shall be a minimum three feet in height. Screening adjacent to lots in a residential district shall be a minimum four feet in height.

2. Materials. Screening may consist of one or any combination of the methods listed below.

a. Walls. Low-profile walls consisting of brick, stone, stucco, or other quality durable material approved by the director, and including a decorative cap or top finish as well as edge detail at wall ends. Plain concrete blocks are not allowed as a screening wall material unless capped and finished with stucco or other material approved by the director.

b. Planting. Plant materials consisting of compact evergreen plants that form an opaque screen.

c. Berms. Berms a minimum of two feet in height and planted with appropriate shrubs and ground cover.

[Figure: FIGURE 17.27.110(O): PARKING AREA SCREENING]

FIGURE 17.27.110(O): PARKING AREA SCREENING

P. Alternative Parking Area Designs. Where an applicant can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the director that variations in the requirements of this section are warranted in order to achieve environmental design and green building objectives, including but not limited to achieving certification under the LEED™ Green Building Rating System or equivalent, an alternative parking area design may be approved.

Q. Maintenance. It shall be the duty of the property owner to maintain and repair the parking lot and related improvements in accordance with the above standards and any other conditions imposed at the time of approval. Parking lots, including landscaped areas, driveways, and loading areas, shall be maintained free of refuse, debris, or other accumulated matter and shall be kept in good repair at all times.

(Ord. No. 662, § 2, 12-13-23)